The best in Saskatchewan under-12 softball was at York Lake, with girls demonstrating their skills and competing against each other in a weekend-long showcase.
The District 4 team, which includes Yorkton, Melville, and the surrounding area, finished seventh out of eight teams, with a record of 1-3-1. The final results saw District 2 (Regina) take gold, District 6 (Saskatoon) take silver, and District 1 (which includes Weyburn, Qu’appelle, and Estevan) take bronze.
Clorice Kuzek, coach of the District 4 team, said that while they didn’t win, they were still in the games and, more importantly, were able to see the level of softball skill in the province.
“To see some of these girls... I have umpired fastball for the past 10 years, and I have never seen talent at this age like I have seen at this tournament. There are amazing young ladies coming out of our province who are really great ball players, and it was an eye-opener for the girls in our area to see what is out there.”
Kuzek was particularly impressed by the pitching skill on display and how the girls on the field controlled a game without the help of an adult, calling pitches and making strategic decisions.
Locally, she was also impressed by the two District 4 pitchers and how they stuck in the games. While there was a learning curve for the relatively inexperienced team, she applauded their ability to compete, even if they were low in the tournament standings.
One of the challenges of building a district team in Yorkton is the sheer size of the area, which is not an issue for districts like Regina or Saskatoon, who just have to draw within the city.
“We draw from basically the Manitoba border to Wynyard and Balcarras while Regina is Regina, and Saskatoon is Saskatoon. We have to find a good group of core girls who want to travel to things like this and are interested in it, because you have to want to learn.”
Bringing in talent from across the province is also a great way to get people interested in the game, especially as District 4 is in its first year and wants to get more girls interested in the game, and Kuzek is encouraged by what she saw on the weekend.
“It was great to see people out at the York Lake ball diamonds enjoying some really great ball.”
